Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Interwar => Topic started by: morrisbh on October 05, 2021, 12:13:18 AM
-
Hi All,
I've suddenly discovered, I know late to the show, the shear numbers of conflicts in this period. It looks like it could be a very interesting period to play.
What are the popular sets of rules being used and are any designed to play from Africa to the Balkans to Asia? I'm thinking of 28mm skirmish size games.
Cheers
-
The only one I know that are specifically written for the various wars in the interwars period are World in Flames by Osprey.
Not sure how widely they are used.
-
It's a big and diverse period to consider!
For 28mm skirmish games, a very popular ruleset here at LAF is 'Triumph and Tragedy', which has its own child board: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?board=25.0 I'm not sure if it's still in print or where you can find a copy.
Another popular set here at LAF is 'Setting the East Ablaze'. It is available from Caliver Books: https://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?9fuot90v5mubirlh80i69m9m60&id=25635&subcatcode=M&subcatno=125
You can also look at 'Brigadier '38', which was written with the Very British Civil War in mind: https://solwaycraftsandminiatures.webs.com/books.htm
I got my own start into the Back of Beyond with the Back of Beyond supplement to Chris Peers' Contemptible Little Armies: https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=650 and https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=5740
Many WWI and WWII rules have been tweaked for interwar gaming. There are versions of (for example) Chain of Command and Bolt Action that focus on conflicts like the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia and more. There are also variants of The Men Who Would Be Kings, The Sword and the Flame (look for 'The Sword to Adventure') as well as rules more closely focussed on specific conflicts such as the Russian Civil War, the Spanish Civil War and more. If you're already familiar with one of these rulesets, it might be an easy start point.
-
Thanks for your replies. I shall start looking into the listed rule sets and see what attracts my attention.
Cheers
-
To add to the above, look at 'Fist Full of Lead, reloaded'
They are quick to learn, easy to tweak (if you want to
add in something for your particular 'war') and, to me
the most important thing, they are FUN. Definitely
more Hollywood than History. You pays yer money &
you makes yer choice.
If you do go for FFofL and, like most of us, end up with
more than 'skirmish' numbers, you can move on to
FFofL Big Battles. We have, take a peek at Flatpack's games,
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131435.msg1667845#msg1667845
-
Morrisbh, I've tried a few of the rulesets mentioned. Triumph an Tragedy are a good set if a tad "Pulp". They also produce a Spanish Civil War supplement. I bought the Osprey "A World Aflame" but as with many Osprey sets, I didn't like them. They might work for you? I have also used the Two Fat Lardies Chain of Command for Spanish Civil War but found the Foreign Legion "supermen". Being an infantry-based game they are good for the period, and you can download a variety of "army" lists from their website. I would avoid the Chris Peers rules like the plague! One of my next projects is to dust-off my Red Army, Warlord Chinese and "Jazz Age Imperialism" British and give "FFol;Bigger Battles" a run-out.
-
FFOL Bigger Battles are great for this.
We’ve used them recently for games using our Brits, Germans, Russians, and Chinese.
It’s great for mid war games, that you want to play.
We’ve had some great fun playing them, as has.been has mentioned.
Lots of toy soldiers on the table, lots of nice scenery, lots of fun for the period.
Give it a go. Well worth it.
-
flatpack, a gaming friend has just bought them so definitely looking forward to some interwar games. I may even be tempted to expand my armies.
-
Thank you for all the above information, much appreciated. Think I will start with 'Fist Full of Lead, reloaded' and see how I go from there.
Cheers,
Brett
-
We have played many an interwar game using the Legends of the old west rules. There was a 1938 version available for free on the internet.
-
I would avoid the Chris Peers rules like the plague!
Pray tell more! I nearly bought some last night but got distracted by spilled wine.
-
Hang Tuah, It may be a personal thing as I know some of his rules appeared quite popular. I bought "Contemptible Little Armies v2" and the "Back of Beyond" army lists when we first started gaming the period. I found them poorly laid out and difficult follow. That's when I tried "Triumph and Tragedy". might be best to get a 2nd opinion .
I still have both books lurking in my stash somewhere....
-
My thoughts on CLA are not as extreme as SJWi's. The rules are simple, allowing for quick play, beer and pretzels style gaming. They don't have much depth, not much in the lines of Command and Control mechanisms. But they let you get your toys on the table and get a game on with little fuss. And the Back of Beyond lists inspired me to do some research on the various armies - they get very brief introductions in the BoB lists, not much more than a paragraph along with very basic descriptions of troop types, but what was provided was enough to get me digging into the reference books for more information.
-
Will, thanks for a "measured" 2nd opinion. I would agree that the "Back of Beyond" lists are quite useful as a primer on the period, and would complement any other set if rules. I think what we found frustrating was the lack of depth....plus the lay out, lack of a QRF etc etc. We found that when we thought about certain mechanisms, or follow-on effects of actions there just wasn't anything there. Some people would say "just add your own house rules" but we moved on to look for something else.
-
No worries, SWJi! CLA is pretty limited, and I haven't played it in something like 15 years. We noted the same things you did - no QRS, no depth, so we also moved on to different rules. There's a better selection of games out there now, but the BoB supplement was good for inspiration.
Morris, if you are still looking for historical inspiration for your games, I recommend the books by Peter Hopkirk - 'Setting the East Ablaze', 'the Great Game - On Secret Service East of Constantinople', and 'Foreign Devils on the Silk Road'.
-
Excellent call on the Hopkirk books. It was his "The Great Game" that sent me into "The Back of Beyond". For more on the British experience I can also recommend Antony Wynn's "Persia in the Great Game" which covers the career of Sir Percy Sykes, and "The Adventures of Dunsterforce" and "With the Persian Expedition" both of which cover the activities of Major General Dunsterville's expedition into Northern Iraq and the Eastern Caucasus in late 1917/1918. Fascinating stuff .
-
Come see our campaign in the 1933 ACW2 New Sacramento Campaign. We are using a set called The men who would be warlord, a modified version of the men who would be king.
We will be posting version 4 soon. The campaign is in part to provide considerable playtesting of the rules. The players are really pushing the rules and we are having games with vastly different forces as the campaign puts the field armies on to the battlefield.
-
Me, I always like Chris Peers rules. However, they are on the simple side (which I like), they usually call for a larger number of figures and are often very bloody.
-
I must admit I was hoping for a universally accepted set of rules with army lists and points, but like most periods it is hard to get a common set. We mainly play throw down games with points and different scenarios. It saves us time and allows us to finish in a single session, the problem of a working life.
I have purchased a set of "Fistful of Lead: Big Battles" and I'm fairly sure I have a copy of BoB somewhere.
I will look up those references.
Thanks to all.
Brett
-
"Arc of Fire" is another set of rules you might consider, morrisbh. This one isn't too well known. I've played in a couple of games of it at our regional miniatures convention. I think I'm going to use it myself (already bought two copies) when I get around to 20mm WW2 and some early 20th Century actions in Africa and China. Here's 5 key factors to consider:
1. The book cost is only $20 from Brigade Games (charts in rules can be photocopied)
2. Authors not trying to sell a bunch of supplement books to increase your investment
3. Covers any action in the 20th Century
4. Designed for players to handle between 10 and 150 figures each (squad to company).
5. Uses d10 instead of d6 (I don't think d6 gives adequate room for modifiers)
Here's the link on Brigade Games:
https://www.brigadegames.com/Arc-of-Fire-Rules_p_2074.html
Here's an old review from 13 years ago on BoardGameGeek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/27043/user-review
Having said all that about Arc of Fire, you could also use Pulp Alley for even smaller actions, such as sabotage of a bridge (as in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" or "Force 10 from Navarone"), or a prison camp rescue, or a small scouting mission, or a spy scenario. Pulp Alley is not really military, but it doesn't require super heroes or villains or wierd stuff or horror. You can make it look military depending on how the adventure scenario is set up and the figures that you use.
Here's a review on BoardGameGeek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1261637/pulp-alley-gets-it-right
Here's the website:
https://pulpalley.com/
-
I will certainly look into the Arc of Fire rules. Unfortunately we currently cannot get items posted from the US to Australia at this stage due to Covid restrictions.
Cheers
-
Morrisbh,
Depending on the scale of game you want to do, take a look at One Hour Skirmish Wargames by John Lambshead. Wonderful, fairly simple rules. They are my current favorite, and have me planning all sorts of orders.